Unable to access M$ Security Patch thru UPDATE

  • Thread starter Thread starter Itz Just Me
  • Start date Start date
I

Itz Just Me

I just got a notice from my cable provider about a critical patch just
issued by M$ for the media player. I have been using mine lately
quite a bit more than usual, though I do not allow it to access the
Internet after playing a CD (I block it with my firewall.)

I tried accessing M$ through Control Panel >Windows Update, which was
working fine the other day. However, I got an error page, that this
page may be experiencing technical difficulties, or I need to change
my browser settings. My security settings are low enough to access
that page. This happened to me once before, using Windows XP Home. I
now use XP Pro.

Is this a temporary problem that will resolve later, or do I need to
change some settings in my computer to get UPDATE working properly
again?

I do NOT need the patch, as I accessed it through an address provided
by my ISP.

Thanks
 
Itz Just Me said:
I just got a notice from my cable provider about a critical patch just
issued by M$ for the media player. I have been using mine lately
quite a bit more than usual, though I do not allow it to access the
Internet after playing a CD (I block it with my firewall.)

I tried accessing M$ through Control Panel >Windows Update, which was
working fine the other day. However, I got an error page, that this
page may be experiencing technical difficulties, or I need to change
my browser settings. My security settings are low enough to access
that page. This happened to me once before, using Windows XP Home. I
now use XP Pro.

Is this a temporary problem that will resolve later, or do I need to
change some settings in my computer to get UPDATE working properly
again?

I do NOT need the patch, as I accessed it through an address provided
by my ISP.
Click to expand...

If you downloaded a patch from any other site except one operated by
Microsoft you have no way of knowing if the patch you have is genuine or one
containing an unexpected payload such as virus or trojans.
You should never download a patch from any non Microsoft site even if it is
one directed to you via some e-mail.

Just for the record our company name is Microsoft or if you require to use
an abbreviation you may use MSFT. The use of M$ is deliberately
antagonistic..

--
Regards,

Mike
--
Mike Brannigan [Microsoft]

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no
rights

Please note I cannot respond to e-mailed questions, please use these
newsgroups
 
Most likely, the update you received and installed was not from
Microsoft and you've messed up your machine. Suggest you get back to
the ISP or the site from which you received the software.

rms
 
Greetings --

I don't know what "M$" is, but you should never, ever download any
updates or patches to Microsoft products from anywhere but Microsoft's
official web site (http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/). There are a
lot of unscrupulous spammers and others malicious individuals trying
to entice unsuspecting computer using into paying for updates that
Microsoft provides for free.


Bruce Chambers
--
Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
having both at once. -- RAH
 
Thanks. I will note to be more respectful of the wonderful MSFT
folks. I buy and use many of their products. Every piece of software
on my computer (other than spyware, trojans, and viruses) is authentic
and registered.

The patch I d/l was from the MSFT website. It was provided by my ISP
because they felt the latest threat was particularly dangerous for its
customers. I went directly to their web site (www.comcast.net) and
found the information about the patch. It is listed on this page,
with information about how to download the patch:

http://www.comcast.net/memberservices/index.jsp

The link from CC took me to this site:

http://www.microsoft.com/security/security_bulletins/20040210_windows.asp

I did NOT install a patch from an email attachment. I would NEVER do
that.

Do you still feel I have jepordized my machine by installing the
patch? Did the link take me to a hostile and dangerous web site?

I am still unable to access the MSFT Windows update through my Control
Panel > Windows Update. How do I get that working again?
 
I also scanned my computer with updated virus definitions from NAV
after the d/l and installation. No viruses were detected.
 
I disassociated this thread from the original, so for the sake of
clarity, here is my edited version of the original post from earlier
today:

--------------------------------

I just got a notice from my cable provider about a critical patch just
issued by MSFT for the media player. I have been using mine lately
quite a bit more than usual, though I do not allow it to access the
Internet after playing a CD (I block it with my firewall.)

I tried accessing MSFT through Control Panel >Windows Update, which
was
working fine the other day. However, I got an error page, that this
page may be experiencing technical difficulties, or I need to change
my browser settings. My security settings are low enough to access
that page. This happened to me once before, using Windows XP Home. I
now use XP Pro.

Is this a temporary problem that will resolve later, or do I need to
change some settings in my computer to get UPDATE working properly
again?

I do NOT need the patch, as I accessed it through an address provided
by my ISP.

Thanks
 
The patch I d/l was from the MSFT website. It was provided by my ISP
because they felt the latest threat was particularly dangerous for its
customers. I went directly to their web site (www.comcast.net) and
found the information about the patch. It is listed on this page,
with information about how to download the patch:

http://www.comcast.net/memberservices/index.jsp

The link from CC took me to this site:

http://www.microsoft.com/security/security_bulletins/20040210_windows.asp

I did NOT install a patch from an email attachment. I would NEVER do
that.

Do you still feel I have jepordized my machine by installing the
patch? Did the link take me to a hostile and dangerous web site?

I am still unable to access the MSFT Windows update through my Control
Panel > Windows Update. How do I get that working again? Is there
somewhere I can reset the address for the update function?

When I try to go there, I get this address:

http://www.microsoft.com/isapi/redir.dll?prd=Win2000&ar=WinUpdate
 
The patch I d/l was from the MSFT website. It was provided by my ISP
because they felt the latest threat was particularly dangerous for its
customers. I went directly to their web site (www.comcast.net) and
found the information about the patch. It is listed on this page,
with information about how to download the patch:

http://www.comcast.net/memberservices/index.jsp

The link from CC took me to this site:

http://www.microsoft.com/security/security_bulletins/20040210_windows.asp

I did NOT install a patch from an email attachment. I would NEVER do
that.

Do you still feel I have jepordized my machine by installing the
patch? Did the link take me to a hostile and dangerous web site?

I am still unable to access the MSFT Windows update through my Control
Panel > Windows Update. How do I get that working again? Is there
somewhere I can reset the address for the update function?

When I try to go there, I get this address:

http://www.microsoft.com/isapi/redir.dll?prd=Win2000&ar=WinUpdate
Click to expand...

You're fine. Comcast has a new service for its customers and many of us
received that same email.

The cautions you are getting from others is because a common way for
viruses to enter the system is via a spoofed email (looks like it is from
someone that it isn't from). The email could have an attachment or a link
to a malicious website.

So how do you tell the difference between a real email warning and a fake
one? Unless you're handy at reading email headers (and even these can be
tampered with), you can't. So what to do from here? If the security patch
is that critical, it will be available directly from the website - in this
case Windows Update. Type the URL into your address bar or use the link in
your Start Menu to get there.

Windows Update uses MS Knowledge Base numbering for security updates. The
MS Security Bulletins use a different numbering system. If you can't
discern whether an update has been installed or not, you can search
microsoft.com for the security bulletin number. That article will be linked
to the MS Knowledge Base number and that will link up with the numbers
shown under your Installation History at Windows Update.

The above sounds more complicated than it is. The point is to go directly
to the source of the patch/update and check out the existence of an update
and/or confirm that it has already been installed.
 
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